Previous stake arrangements for flatbed trailers have been described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,126,224 of Carter et al issued Mar. 24, 1964; No. 2,222,335 of Dietrich issued Nov. 19, 1940; No. 1,363,059 of Shanahan issued Dec. 21, 1920; No. 3,174,592 of Varmon et al issued Mar. 23, 1965; No. 3,692,354 of Tuerk and No. 4,067,601 of Tuerk issued Jan. 10, 1978.
This latter patent describes a stake currently used constructed with a main body, one portion of which is flat, and a T-shaped portion which extends outwardly from that flat portion along its length to provide a pair of oppositely facing panel side-receiving channels. A problem with such prior art stake construction is that is constricts the trailer platform space available when the stakes and panels which form the vertical side walls of the trailer are in place. The channels are positioned to one side of the main body, and when the stake is in position in the pocket, they are located inwardly over portions of the platform so that valuable platform space to the exterior is lost when the panels are in position with their sides in the channels. That space may only be an inch or two, but an inch r two on both sides of the trailer may make a significant difference in the cargo handling capacity of the trailer.